Analysts Discuss RIM PlayBook Challenges

IMS Research analyst Anna Hunt said RIM could find it challenging to
introduce a new tablet without an extensive library of content and apps.
"RIM does have a strong brand and cool appeal, which will benefit the
company in the tablet space, but they will have to do something impressive in
terms of managed services and content to win share away from iPad and Android
tablets," Hunt said.

Financial analyst Jeffrey Fidacaro, from Susquehanna Research, agreed. He
said while the RIM tablet is a positive for a company, there will be a major
transition period to the new QNX operating system, which could result in a
delay as programmers build a critical mass of applications for it.

Fidacaro, who said last week that he expects 2.5 million PlayBooks to be built for the fourth
quarter, said upgrading RIM's 50 million-plus subscribers to the new platform
could take at least two years.
Moreover, the PlayBook's distribution will initially be cramped, as carriers
will shy away from a device devoid of 3G.
The PlayBook supports Bluetooth and tethers to a BlackBerry smartphone,
"which provides a low incentive for the carriers to push this device, in
our view," Fidacaro said in a Sept. 28 research note.
That will provide iPad and Android tablets ample time to build momentum against
RIM.
It's clear an air of uncertainty hovers over RIM, which is trying to keep users on its mobile platforms at a time when growth for
Apple's iOS for the iPad and iPhone is robust and Android-based smartphones and
tablets are sprouting up everywhere you look.
Still, RIM's ace in the hole has always been its BlackBerry Enterprise
Server, which has helped the company place BlackBerry smartphones into
thousands of businesses that demand optimal security.
If the company can position the PlayBook the same way, it could soar to
dominance in North American businesses, beating out more consumer- and
media-centric devices such as the iPad, Galaxy Tab and others.